Why Non-Sectarian?

by Reverend Ryugen Watanabe, Osho

There are many sects in Buddhism. The teaching of Buddha is very deep and profound. Therefore, in order to study and practice his various teachings in depth, we had to separate them for the past 2,500 years. For example, in Japanese Buddhism there are the "Soto" and "Rinzai" sects, also known as the "Zen Sect". These sects focus their practice on meditation, and so they are the meditation specialists. The "Nichiren" sect focuses its practice on the Lotus Sutra exclusively. The "Shingon" sect concentrates on the esoteric teachings of Buddha, such as mantra, mudra, and meditation.

There are many more sects than these. All sects of Buddhism concentrate on the true teachings of Buddha, but each one approaches it differently. Sectarian Buddhism is wonderful. It has given us the opportunity to practice the various teachings deeply for all these years.

Every sectarian teaching has merits and demerits. For the past 2,500 years the sectarian schools have completed their mission. Now it is time to unify the sects again. There is one "laughing matter" in Buddhism: all the different Sectarian Buddhists should respect each other, but in reality, some of the high priests teach that their sect is better than the others.

They teach that "this sect is the true teaching , and the other sects are wrong! One of the main teachings of Buddha is non-attachment, but these so-called masters are very attached to the teachings of the sect to which they belong. It is very sad to see Buddhists of different sects fight against each other. They argue over doctrine.

But whoever loses is an embarrassment to Buddha, and whoever wins insults Buddha's teachings. No wonder many sincere followers of Buddha are confused by sectarian priests. One of the purposes of Kanzeonji Non-Sectarian Buddhist Temple is to correct this "laughing matter" of Buddhism and to serve the public by presenting Buddha's teaching in a non-sectarian way and creating a place for all of Buddha's disciples to get together to exchange energy and information. In one sense, non-sectarian Buddhism is just another sect: yes, the sect of no-sect! This approach should not be restricted to Buddhism.